All thriving organisms have built-in motivation to seek food and reproduce. As humans, we’re equipped with a few extra motivational triggers. We have an enormous variety of incentives, seen in no other creature on earth, that push us to achieve our goals.
We have compiled a list of eleven motivators you should include in your learning strategy:
1. Curiosity
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it’s also a way to discover – and retain – new information. Curiosity is essential for long-term memory formation.
2. Seeking
Think of seeking as the ancient, vital need to hunt and forage for food, mates, companions, and answers. Being on a quest also proves to be a motivation when learning.
3. Rewards
Using rewards is a classic motivator. The timing and certainty of the payoff determines a reward’s value. If the reward seems too far off or is insignificant, the motivation level diminishes.
4. Uncertainty and Risk
Having a consequence tends to sharpen focus and causes dopamine levels to rise. Uncertainty and risk work together to form a crucial motivator for learning.
5. Confidence
Building confidence in a specific area provides an extra motivational push. Self-assessing one’s confidence is crucial for effective learning.
6. Anticipation
Anticipation is essentially the motivated state of mind characterized by high dopamine production which causes the behavior of seeking. Anticipation is heightened with uncertainty.
7. Goals
Realizable goals can really get people moving. For a goal to be realizable, it needs to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
8. Intentions
The manner in which learners set their intentions and plan for the future has a profound effect on their desire to learn.
9. Flow
“The flow” describes a highly focused state of mind paired with masterful activity. People in the flow are completely immersed and lose track of time and space, enjoying the task at hand.
10. Progress and Optimism
Nobody likes feeling stuck in a rut. Learning suffers with pessimism yet flourishes with optimism. When we feel like success is possible and we can see progress, motivation rises.
11. Gamification
Games keep your dopamine levels optimized so you stay engaged and keep learning.
An effective learning strategy is one that engages learners and helps them learn more efficiently. The Amplifire learning platform is built on cognitive triggers that enable mastery and smart decision-making.
